''Isopora palifera'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of stony

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Acroporidae Acroporidae is a family of small polyped stony corals in the phylum Cnidaria. The name is derived from the Greek ''"akron"'' meaning "summit" and refers to the presence of a corallite at the tip of each branch of coral. They are commonly known a ...

. It is a

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

building coral living in shallow water and adopts different forms depending on the water conditions where it is situated. It is found in the Western Indo-Pacific Ocean as far east as Australia.

Description

''Isopora palifera'' can be encrusting, or massive, form columnar branches or parallel ridges of blade-like branches. The shape adopted is much dependent on how much water movement there is at its site of growth; it is encrusting in a strong current or on the seaward side of a reef and is more branching in calm, still conditions. The branches are in diameter and up to long. Each branch has several axial

corallite A corallite is the skeletal cup, formed by an individual stony coral polyp, in which the polyp sits and into which it can retract. The cup is composed of aragonite, a crystalline form of calcium carbonate, and is secreted by the polyp. Corallit ...

s up to in diameter. The radial corallites are cylindrical, large and close together or touching, and project from the branches by up to . Each has a distinct, large irregularly shaped opening near the tip. The colour of this coral is greenish, creamy or pale brown. This colour comes from minute

symbiotic Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biolo ...

dinoflagellate The Dinoflagellates (), also called Dinophytes, are a monophyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes constituting the phylum Dinoflagellata and are usually considered protists. Dinoflagellates are mostly marine plankton, but they are also commo ...

s known as

zooxanthellae Zooxanthellae (; zooxanthella) is a colloquial term for single-celled photosynthetic organisms that are able to live in symbiosis with diverse marine invertebrates including corals, jellyfish, demosponges, and nudibranchs. Most known zooxanthell ...

which live within the tissues of the coral polyps. These

photosynthetic Photosynthesis ( ) is a Biological system, system of biological processes by which Photoautotrophism, photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical ener ...

algae use sunlight to create organic compounds and the coral is able to use these to provide part of its nutritional needs. Fluorescent granules of pigment are present in the tissues and these are in greater concentrations in individuals growing in high-light environments. ''Isopora palifera'' closely resembles ''

Isopora cuneata ''Isopora'' is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Species The World Register of Marine Species includes the following species in the genus: * ''Isopora brueggemanni'' (Brook, 1893) * ''Isopora crateriformis'' (Gardi ...

'', and often has similar forms of growth, but ''I. cuneata'' mostly occurs in more eastern parts of the Pacific and in shallower water, and the holes in its conical-shaped radial corallites are circular in outline.

Distribution

''Isopora palifera'' is found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Its range extends from South Africa and Madagascar to East Africa, Aldabra and Chagos, India, China, Japan, Indonesia and Australia. It is the commonest species of coral in the northern part of the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

. It is a reef building coral and is found subtidally on reef flats, edges walls and slopes. ''Isopora palifera'' first appears in the fossil record in Papua New Guinea in the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58black band disease Black band disease is a coral disease in which corals develop a black band. It is characterized by complete tissue degradation due to a pathogenic microbial consortium. The mat is present between apparently healthy coral tissue and freshly expos ...

and white band disease. In a study in Taiwan, it was found that two different algal symbionts, ''

Symbiodinium ''Symbiodinium'' is a genus of dinoflagellates that encompasses the largest and most prevalent group of endosymbiotic dinoflagellates known and have photosymbiotic relationships with many species. These unicellular microalgae commonly reside in ...

phylotype In taxonomy, a phylotype is an observed similarity used to classify a group of organisms by their phenetic relationship. This phenetic similarity, particularly in the case of asexual organisms, may reflect the evolutionary relationships. The term ...

s C and D, were associated with the coral. One or both were present at any one time, the proportion of each fluctuating with the time of year, the sea water temperature and changing light levels. It is when neither is present, as may happen when the water temperature rises too high, that

bleaching Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

is caused, and when this happens, the coral is prone to damage, disease, and death.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q27991503 Acroporidae Cnidarians of the Indian Ocean Cnidarians of the Pacific Ocean Marine fauna of Africa Marine fauna of Asia Marine fauna of Oceania Corals described in 1816 Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck